Unlike many of the battles in this series, the battle between The Mountain, aka Ser Gregor Clegane vs Prince Oberyn Martell of Dorne that happens in Season 4’s The Mountain and the Viper episode is a one on one standoff due to trial by combat. This does not mean that it is no less epic than any other battle in the series because I still carry emotional scars from watching this episode five years ago.

As Tyrion Lannister is accused of poisoning his nephew King Joffrey Lannister during his wedding feast, his fate is left in the hands of two champions — Ser Gregor Clegane, a hulking beast who fights for Cersei Lannister and Prince Oberyn Martell, a suave and amorous nobleman from Dorne who has a long standing grudge against the Mountain for the rape and murder of his sister and her two children. If The Mountain wins, Tyrion will be sent to his death and if his champion prevails, the gods have proven his innocence.

This battle was so graphic and so unexpected that it made me write about a standalone episode for the first time. By the time the two champions were down, I was screaming my head off because of shock. It was even more shocking because during his one season stint in King’s Landing, I very much liked Pedro Pascal as Oberyn.

Check out my full review of the episode below:

Game of Thrones S04E08: One of the best and worst hours of television